Roll-piercing mills

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to a three roll piercing mill made up of a roll stand for receiving the rolls in which the stand with the rolls is removed and carried from the mill to a roll removal and replacing station arranged normal to the direction of travel of the material rolled by the mill and adjacent to the mill. In the station there is provided a block having pins for supporting a used roll set and a new roll set, which block is rotated to position one or the other of these sets in registry with the removed roll stand.

11] 3,842,638 [451 Oct. 22, 1974 1 1 ROLL-PIERCING MILLS [75] Inventors:Paul Schmitt, Saarbruecken;

Giinter Bathge, Merschweiler, both of Germany [73] Assignec: WeanUnited, 1nc., Pittsburgh, Pa. [22] Filed: June 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.:371,194

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 30, 1972 Germany 2233078[52] US. Cl. 72/239 [51] Int. Cl B211) 31/08 [58] Field of Search72/239, 238

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,323,345 6/1967 Lyle ct a172/239 3,328,973 7/1967 Scherb 72/239 3,355,923 12/1967 Gillct .7 72/2393,418,838 12/1968 Rotcrt et a1 72/239 3,566,653 3/1971 Unrath 72/238Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Attorney, Agent, or FirmHenry C. Wcstin;Daniel Patch 1 5 7 ABSTRACT The disclosure relates to a three rollpiercing mill made up of a roll stand for receiving the rolls in whichthe stand with the rolls is removed and carried from the 'mill to a rollremoval and replacing station arranged normal to the direction of travelof the mate rial rolled by the mill and adjacent to the millhln thestation there is provided a block having pins for supporting a used rollset and a new roll set, which block is rotated to position one or theother of these sets in registry with the removed roll stand. 1

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures The present invention relates toroll-piercing mills. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, modernrolling mills are generally designed in such a manner that the rollmountings are guided in radial slots formed in two stand halvesrotatable about the roll axis in relation to one another, and arecoupled with one another at either side of the stand for purposes ofcommon radial adjustment, one stand half being anchored to the bed andholding the moving half.

There has been no lack of proposals hitherto, directed to theimprovement of the design of rolling mills of this kind, although theproblem of roll change has been disregarded virtually without exceptiondespite the fact that the consequent down times and investment costs forthe various ancillary pieces of equipment used represent a considerablefactor in assessing the economy of this kind of tube-manufacturingplant.

The object exists to reduce the time taken by the operations ofdismantling the roll stand and changing the rolls in three rollroll-piercing mills of the kind introductorily described, at the expenseof low outlay in terms of aids, so that the lost production does notexceed economically acceptable limits.

According to the present invention there is provided a roll-piercingmill provided with a device for dismantling roll stands and changingrolls, comprising a mechanism for uncoupling universal shafts, a devicefor effecting cross-transfer of a roll-stand into a location adjacent arolling mill, and a dismantling and assembly device of turret design,arranged in front of said location effective to perform dismantling andassembly operations on the rolls.

A particular embodiment of the uncoupling mechanism is one in which theconnection of the universal shafts to the rolls when the latter are inthe assembled condition can be detached by axial displacement of a fixedmechanism commonly engaging all the universal shaft flanges. Themounting units for the rolls include bores which, when the roll stand isin the assembled condition, can be placed in engagement with supportingpins of a changeover mechanism rotatable about a fixed axis and capableof traversing in the roll axis direction.

The changeover mechanism can be equipped with the components which areto be newly installed, while the roll stand is operating.

The assembled condition of the roll stand can be determined by the useof two brackets which are essential for normal operation, and of twoadditional brackets so that because of the short transfer travel it isunnecessary to disconnect the roll stand power lines.

The invention also proposes a device with the help of which the assemblyoperations can be carried out withthe right the operating condition andat the left, in

chain-dotted line, the assembly condition with the changeover mechanismin engagement and drawn fully out the need for an overhead crane so thathere again,

waiting times are reduced. This device is characterized by a carriagerunning on horizontal rails and carrying means, for example, fourdouble-acting cylinders with vertical axes, a portion of which means isdesigned to engage the roll stand.

The present invention will now be described by way of example makingreference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevationalview facing the seamless tubular products comingfrom a rolling mill, showing at FIG. 2 illustrates plan views of thedevices shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 2, of therolling mill and of the changeover mechanism which is in the initialposition;

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 3. with the changeovermechanism this time in the operating position;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line A-B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line C-D of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section in accordance with FIG. 6, but in the uncoupledcondition;

FIG. 8 is a section on the line E-F of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, but with an additional liftingand transfer mechanism for the roll stand; and

FIG. 10 illustrates devices corresponding to FIG. 9, in plan.

The FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the device in accordance with the inventionin the two principal views, the rolling mill having been illustrated, inthe amount of detail required for an understanding thereof, in theoperating condition in the right hand half of the drawing and in theassembly condition in'the left hand, chain-dotted illustration.

When the rolls,-complete with mounting units 1, are in the dismantledcondition as illustrated,

a. the angle of rotation of the two standhalves 3 and 4 in relation toone another is zero so that the radial planes of intersection ofrolls 2and material 5 being rolled are located in a single plane; and

b. all the mounting units 1 of the rolls 2, in both standhalves 3 and 4,have the same distance from the roll center so that the axes of therolls 2 are disposed at a specific interval from and parallel to theroll center.

This dismantled condition, precisely determined by mechanical limitingarrangements which have not been shown, ensures accurate alignment ofbores 6 formed in the mounting units 1 which are located one behind theother in the rolling direction.

The assembly condition of the part of the roll stand, as illustrated inchain-dotted line, determines the position which a changeover mechanismg must occupy. This mechanism consists of a block 12 which is assembledon a carriage l0 and which is rotatable by means which have not beenillustrated, about a pin 11. In the illustrated example the block hasfour working faces 13 each of which is equipped with fixed support pins14, 15. The carriage 10 is guided on rails 16 and can be traversed by,means of a double-acting cylinder 17 whose rigid attachment 18 can beseen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The rolls 2, as FIGS. 6 to 8 show, are attached to universal shafts 19through couplings which comprise a coupling element 22 carried on a pin21 and a coupling element 24 detachably fixed to a universal shaftflange 23, the coupling elements being connected through a centeringdevice 46 and face-gearing 25, and being retained by a split two-piecering 26.

Circumferential grooves 44 in the coupling elements 24 determine theshape of recesses 45 in aprons 27 which can be traversed by a cylinder32, these aprons being provided with slides 31 for the purpose and beingguided in a cantilever arm 30 which is pivotable about a bearing pin 29by means of cylinders 28. To attach the cylinder 28 and the bearing pin29, two pillars 20 and 20' are provided, while stops 47 and 47' definethe open position of the aprons 27, illustrated in chaindotted fashionin FIG. 8 and enabling an arbitrary roll adjustment to be produced.

During normal rolling operation, the changeover mechanism g is madeready for subsequent roll change, a guide 34 for the material beingrolled, on the one hand, and the three roll units on the other, beingattached upon the support pins 15 and 14 at the different working faces13 of the block 12, each roll unit consisting of the roll 2' supportedin two mounting units 1' and equipped with the coupling element 22', andbeing held by the cross members 35 (FIG. 5). FIG. 2 shows a guide 34 inits operating position in the mill.

After rolling has ended, the rolls are traversed into the dismantlingposition above described so that the cut-outs 45 in the aprons 27 engagein the grooves 44 in the coupling elements 24, thus enabling thecouplings to be uncoupled after the removal of the split rings 26, bypivoting the cantilever arm 30.

After bearingplates 7 shown in FIG. 1 have been removed, the completeroll stand is lifted out of the brackets 8 anchored to the bed, and,using two additional brackets 8, placed in the assembly position. Tothis end, the auxiliary mechanism shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, can be used,this comprising a carriage 40 with four double-acting cylinders 41,wheels 39 of which carriage, when a cylinder 38 is actuated, roll overrails 37 attached to the pillars 36. The piston rods 42 are connected tothe roll stand in order to effect the transfer of the roll stand.

When the roll stand is positioned in front of the changeover mechanismg, the cylinder 17 is operated to first bring the pins 14 into positionto receive and support a guide 34. The changeover mechanism is thenretracted, if necessary, to allow the block 12 to be rotated 90 toposition the pins in front of the rolls, in which the pins will line upwith the bores 6 of the mounting units 1 of the rolls. The cylinder 17is again operated to cause the pins to enter into the bores 6 to therebysupport the rolls. By four wedges 35 shown in FIG. 5, the rolls andtheir mounting means are axially secured. The cylinder 17 is operated athird time to retract the block after which the block can be-rotated l80to bring a new roll set into alignment with the roll stand and theprocedure just explained is repeated, the last operation being toreassemble a new guide 34 into the roll stand.

The roll stand re-equipped in this way, is placed in the operatingposition, attached in the brackets 8, coupled up by actuating thecylinder 28, secured by means of the rings 26 and is then ready forrenewed rolling op erations after the aprons 27 have traversed apart.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, we haveexplained the principle and operation of our invention and haveillustrated and described what we consider to represent the bestembodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. In combination with a rolling mill or like device having at least onematerial working roll means received in a roll stand,

an apparatus for removing said roll stand from said mill and returningit to said mill and for removing said roll means from said roll standand replacing said roll means in said roll stand, comprising means fortransferring said roll stand together with said roll means to and fromsaid mill in a direction 5 normal to the direction of travel of thematerial being rolled and a roll means removing and replacing stationarranged adjacent said mill, and a roll means removing and replacingdevice arranged in said station for removing a used roll means from saidstand and replacing it with a new rollmeans,

wherein each said roll includes roll mounting means,

openings formed in said roll mounting means for resaid roll means to andfrom said mill in a direction normal to the direction of travel of thematerial being rolled and a roll means removing and replacing stationarranged adjacent said mill, and

a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in said station forremoving a used roll means from said stand and replacing it with a newroll means,

and said device including a rotatable member and having separate rollsupporting means for a set of new rolls and a set of used rolls.

3. In a combination according to claim 1, including means forfacilitating rotation of said rotatable member about a fixed axis andother means for traversing said roll removing and replacing device inthe direction of the axes of said rolls.

4. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable memberincludes a rotatable block,

a carriage for supporting said block,

said block having at least two working faces each having supportingmembers for receiving and supporting a set of rolls.

5. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said roll stand whenin said mill is supported by two brackets,

two additional brackets arranged in said station for supporting saidroll stand when transferred to said station.

6. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said transfer meansinclude a carriage,

rails extending between said mill and said station for supporting saidcarriage,

said carriage including lifting means for lifting and carrying said rollstand, and

means for moving said carriage between said mill and station.

7. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said rolling millincludes a driving means for each roll,

coupling means for each roll for connecting said driving means to saidrolls. and

said apparatus further comprises means for disengaging and engaging saidcoupling means from their associated rolls.

8. ln a combination according to claim 7, wherein each said couplingmeans includes a first part secured to a roll and a second partdetachably connected to a said driving means,

said first part having a circumferential groove and being connected tosaid second part by a centering device and gear,

said second part including a driving pin for engagement with a roll, and

a split ring for retaining said parts in a driving relationship.

9. In a combination according to claim 7, wherein 6 said means fordisengaging and engaging said coupling means includes means movable in adirection of the axes of the rolls when in a said mill in order in oneaxial direction to effect a disengagement of said coupling means fromits roll and in an opposite axial direction to effect an engagement ofsaid coupling means with its roll.

10. In a combination according to claim 9, wherein said movable meansincludes two aprons,

recesses formed in each coupling means, and means for causing saidaprons to be received in said recesses for effecting engagement anddisengagement of said coupling means from an associated roll.

Patent No. 3,842,638

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE" Inventor(s) Paul hmitt et a1.

(SEAL) attest:

Arresting Officer F ORM PO-105O (IO-69) Column a, l e 37, "according toaccordingrto claim 2 Column l, line #2, "according to according to claim2 Column line +9, "according to according "to claim 2 Column T, line 55,"according to according" to claim 2 Column 4, line 65, "according toaccording to claim 2 z-mcoy M. (313803 JR.

claim 1" claim 1" claim 1" claim 1" Commissioner claim 1''- It iscertified that error appears in theabove-identified patent I and thatsaid- Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:'

should read should read shomld read should reads hould read signed andsealed this 31st day of December 1974.

c. MARSHALL DAI'ZN of'Patents USCOMM-DC 60316-969 u s aovnuuzu-r rmunucornct- 930

1. In combination with a rolling mill or like device having at least onematerial working roll means received in a roll stand, an apparatus forremoving said roll stand from said mill and returning it to said milland for removing said roll means from said roll stand and replacing saidroll means in said roll stand, comprising means for transferring saidroll stand together with said roll means to and from said mill in adirection normal to the direction of travel of the material being rolledand a roll means removing and replacing station arranged adjacent saidmill, and a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in saidstation for removing a used roll means from said stand and replacing itwith a new roll means, wherein each said roll includes roll mountingmeans, openings formed in said roll mounting means for receiving pinscarried by said roll means removing and replacing device.
 2. Incombination with a rolling mill or like device having at least onematerial working roll means received in a roll stand, an apparatus forremoving said roll stand from said mill and returning it to said milland for remOving said roll means from said roll stand and replacing saidroll means in said roll stand, comprising means for transferring saidroll stand together with said roll means to and from said mill in adirection normal to the direction of travel of the material being rolledand a roll means removing and replacing station arranged adjacent saidmill, and a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in saidstation for removing a used roll means from said stand and replacing itwith a new roll means, and said device including a rotatable member andhaving separate roll supporting means for a set of new rolls and a setof used rolls.
 3. In a combination according to claim 1, including meansfor facilitating rotation of said rotatable member about a fixed axisand other means for traversing said roll removing and replacing devicein the direction of the axes of said rolls.
 4. In a combinationaccording to claim 1, wherein said rotatable member includes a rotatableblock, a carriage for supporting said block, said block having at leasttwo working faces each having supporting members for receiving andsupporting a set of rolls.
 5. In a combination according to claim 1,wherein said roll stand when in said mill is supported by two brackets,two additional brackets arranged in said station for supporting saidroll stand when transferred to said station.
 6. In a combinationaccording to claim 1, wherein said transfer means include a carriage,rails extending between said mill and said station for supporting saidcarriage, said carriage including lifting means for lifting and carryingsaid roll stand, and means for moving said carriage between said milland station.
 7. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein saidrolling mill includes a driving means for each roll, coupling means foreach roll for connecting said driving means to said rolls, and saidapparatus further comprises means for disengaging and engaging saidcoupling means from their associated rolls.
 8. In a combinationaccording to claim 7, wherein each said coupling means includes a firstpart secured to a roll and a second part detachably connected to a saiddriving means, said first part having a circumferential groove and beingconnected to said second part by a centering device and gear, saidsecond part including a driving pin for engagement with a roll, and asplit ring for retaining said parts in a driving relationship.
 9. In acombination according to claim 7, wherein said means for disengaging andengaging said coupling means includes means movable in a direction ofthe axes of the rolls when in a said mill in order in one axialdirection to effect a disengagement of said coupling means from its rolland in an opposite axial direction to effect an engagement of saidcoupling means with its roll.
 10. In a combination according to claim 9,wherein said movable means includes two aprons, recesses formed in eachcoupling means, and means for causing said aprons to be received in saidrecesses for effecting engagement and disengagement of said couplingmeans from an associated roll.